Amendments to the Patent Act introducing patent term adjustment have been tabled as part of Bill C-47 (Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1), which received its first reading on 20 April 2023. Broadly, the proposed amendments in the bill, as currently contemplated, would allow patent term adjustment to account for delays during prosecution and would require that Applicants apply for patent term adjustment within three months of a patent being granted. Introduction of patent term adjustment comes as part of Canada fulfilling its obligations under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. Looking ahead, the proposed amendments may be revised as the bill proceeds through Parliament and once the bill receives Royal Assent, the specific implementation of patent term adjustment would be set out in future regulations.

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